Retaining wall for basement windows



pt- 26, 9 A. HENDERSON 74,036

RETAINING WALL FOR BASEMENT WINDOWS Filed May 18, 19:59 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A 13' ll 50 g' Z6 9 12 I g 28 f g 5 INVENTOR Alberl' Henderson 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 V A. HENDERSON RETAINING WALL FOR BASEMENT WINDOWS Filed May 18, 1939 Sept. 26, 1939.

Patented Sept. 26, 1939 RETAINING WALL FORBASElVIEN T WINDGWS Albert Henderson, Pittsburgh, .Pa., Iassignor to William P. Witherow, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application May 18, 1939, Serial No.27 4;393

6 Claims.

This invention relates to'building construction and, in particular, to a retaining wall for providing a light shaft adjacent windows which are below grade, e. g., basement windows.

It is customary in the construction of dwellings, to provide a poured concrete retaining wall extending outwardly from the basement wall adjacent the window openings therein to permit the access of light. This construction is expensive because of the necessity for'building forms and finishing the poured mass. A further and more serious objection is that the retaining walls become separated from the basement wall if the ground adjacent the latter settles. This separation opens a crack between the retaining wall and basement wall which permits the infiltration of water, earth, etc. and is also objectionable from the standpoint of its unsightly appearance.

I have invented a novel form of retaining wall for basement windows which overcomes the aforementioned objections and is characterized by particular features of novelty and advantage which will be explained more fully hereinafter and defined in the appended claims. In a preferred form of the invention, I construct a basement wall of blocks laid up in courses. Adjacent the window openings below grade, I provide retaining walls by laying up in superposed relation a plurality of beam members, precast from concrete or the like, the inner ends of the members being laid in the wall and forming a part thereof. Between the beam members extending outwardly from the wall at opposite sides of the window openings, I dispose tie beams or girders in similarly superposed relation, to complete the enclosure or retaining wall which provides a light shaft adjacent the window opening. The details of the structure of my invention will be apparent from the following description which refers to the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment. In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a basement wall having my invention incorporated therein, when the wall has been built up to grade; Fig. 1 may also be conceived of as a sectional view through the construction of Fig. 3 at grade, along the plane of line I-I;,

Fig. 2 is a sectional View along the plane of line IIII of Fig. 1, showing the wall in elevation;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along the plane of line IIIIII of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional View taken substantially along the plane of line IVIV of Fig. 1 showing parts in elevation;

:Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a beam member such as I employ to constitute the sides of the retaining wall enclosure; and

Fig. '6 isasimilar 'viewof the tie beam or girder which I use to constitute the end of the retaining wall enclosure.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, a basement wall II] is composed of a plurality of courses of bloc-ks H and fractional blocks l2. The blocks have their voids disposed vertically providing drainage channels and are laid on a footing l3 havinga collecting trough l4 formed therein. An oiftake pipe l5 extends from the trough i4 tothe usual sewer drain in the basement floor. The blocks ll may conveniently be of standard dimensions, -'i. e., 8"" x '12" x 16" (actually 7%" x 11%" x 15%) The half blocks [2 have the same height and width but are only 8 long (actually 7%). For lighter walls, the blocks may be 8 x 8" x '16".

The wall 10 has window openings therein, one

of which is indicated at I6 and such openings are frequently below grade which is indicated at H. I construct a retaining wall indicated generally at 18 for providing a light'shaft adjacent the opening l6, by laying up beams l9 in superposed relation with their inner ends laid in the wall and forming a part thereof. The beams l9 are preferably of precast reinforced concrete or the like and have a depth equal to the height of the in the wall are laid adjacent the window opening to provide room for the inner ends of the beams 1'9 and -still leave a clear opening of the desired size.

The beams l9 have notches 2!! adjacent their outer ends, the depth of the notches being onehalf the depth of the beams and the width of the notches measured along the length of the beams being equal to the width of the beams. Tie beams or girders 2| which are also preferably precast reinforced concrete members of the same sectional dimensions as the beams l9 have notches 22 adjacent each end similar to the notches 20. By virtue of this construction, the girders 2| may be disposed on the outer ends of the beams 19 with the notches 22 and 20 interfitting. Thus, by successively laying up the beams I9 and the girders 2I the complete enclosure or retaining wall I8 is completed.

I also provide a sill for the window opening by laying a precast member 23 between the inner ends of the bottom-most beams I9, in line with the outer face of the wall III. The member 23 is preferably a precast reinforced concrete member of the same sectional dimensions as the beam I9 and girder 2I. A member 24 which is similar to the member 23 except that it has its corners beveled as at 25, is laid at a 45 angle as shown in Fig. 3 and provides a sloping inner sill for the window opening. The spaces between the members 23 and 24 and between the member 24 and the course of blocks on which they rest may be filled with grout as at 26 to provide a finished sill.

The beams I9 have slots 21 adjacent their inner ends adapted to form a groove for receiving the edge of the frame of a tilting sash 28. The beams I9 also have notches 29 adjacent their inner ends adapted to receive metal keys 3!), the blocks adjacent the window openings having similar notches 3i adapted to aline with the notches 29. The keys 39 provide a mechanical tie between the beams I9 and the wall I ll, in addition to the bond afforded by the mortar in the joints therebetween.

Beam members such as that shown at 23 are also preferably employed to form a lintel for the window opening'lfi. Beams 32, for example, are laid side by side on the inner ends of the uppermost beams I9. The beams 32 difier from the member 23 only in length. The members 23 and 2 are preferably available in various lengths to provide a range of window sizes. In any event, the lengths of the members 23 and 32 are substantially even multiples of their widths.

The beams I9 may be provided with a recess 33 along oneedge adapted to receive a grating 34 if it is desired that the light shaft be covered.

It will be apparent that the construction described is characterized by numerous advantages. In the first place, my retaining wall is composed of standard precast members which may be manufactured at relatively low cost and rapidly assembled without requiring long and tedious finishing. A more important advantage is that the retaining wall is secured to and carried by the basement wall independently of the ground beneath the retaining wall so that settling of the latter does not cause separation of the retaining wall from the basement wall or the opening up of cracks or the like. The basement wall and the retaining wall constitute a unitary and, in effect, a monolithic structure, the beams I9 extending outwardly from the walls as cantilevers and the tie beams ZI rigidly spacing the outer ends in proper relation. The sill constructiondisclosed is highly desirable because the sloping surface of the member 24 eliminates the obstruction to the entrance of light which would be caused by a sill having ahorizontal upper surface. The sill member 23, furthermore, provides with the bottom beams of the retaining wall, a storage reservoir of considerable volume to accommodate accumulation of rainfall until it can percolate through the ground. This accumulation is not objectionable with the wall construction shown as it might be with other types of walls, because any seepage through the outer surface of the blocks ID immediately falls through the vertical passages provided by the voids in the blocks, collects in the trough I4, and is drained away to the sewer.

Although I have illustrated and described but a preferred form of the invention, it will be recognized that changes in the construction disclosed may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a basement wall composed of blocks laid up in courses, a window opening in said wall, superposed precast beam members extending outwardly from the wall adjacent each side of said opening, the inner ends of said members being laid in the wall, and the depth of said members being substantially equal tothe height of the blocks.

2. In a basement wall composed of blocks laid up in courses, a window opening in said wall, superposed precast beam members extending outwardly from the wall adjacent each side of said opening, the inner ends of said members being laid in the wall, the depth of said members being substantially equal to the height of the blocks, and the width of the blocks being substantially a multiple of the width of said members.

3. In a block wall, a window opening, a lintel for said opening comprising a plurality of precast beams disposed side by side, said beams having a depth substantially equal to that of the blocks of the wall, the width of said blocks being substantially a multiple of the width of said beams.

4. In a block wall, a window opening, a lintel for said opening comprising a plurality of precast beams disposed side by side, said beams having a depth substantially equal to that of the blocks of the wall, the width of said blocks being substantially a multiple of the width of said beams, and a sill in said opening composed of another of said beams.

5. In a block wall, a window opening, a lintel for said opening comprising a plurality of precast beams disposed side by side, said beams having a depth substantially equal to that of the blocks of the wall, the width of said blocks being substantially a multiple of the width of said beams, and a sill in said opening composed of another of said beams disposed on edge and one disposed with its sides sloping.

6. A basement wall as defined by claim 1 and characterized by the sides of said members being slotted adjacent their inner ends to provide a sash groove.

ALBERT HENDERSON. 

